The Flower among Darkness
by raikujin
Summary: This is my first fanfic k.. haha reviews welcome but no flamers plz.. A new kunoichi has come to konoha! Wat will Team 7 think of her.. especially when she comes from the same clan as .......
1. Introduction

**Genre**: General

**Date**: 12/06/05

**By**: Raikujin

**Title**: A Flower among Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Hehe but I do own my made-up characters.

This is my first fanfic. Hehe this is the introduction. Pls r&r

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The young kunoichi kept running… running… not wanting to look back at the pillaged and burned clan. Screams of dying people were ringing in her head… and her she was… running away… _like a coward_ she thought sadly. Pain shot through her body as she remembered the kunai that was protruding from her shoulder. Tears were flowing from her eyes, and she constantly stumbled, but she kept running…

She remembered the murderer's eyes, they were red… with three black spots. The thought of those eyes sent shivers down her spine… She remembered seeing her house in flames… and her parents lying dead on the floor… She remembered her brother's frantic attempts to protect her, but he too… was killed in the end. She remembered the murderer throwing a kunai at her… and she was too frightened to dodge it.

The wound on her shoulder was bleeding profusely, and she felt her vision become blurry. Her head felt dizzy and her legs were starting to crumple underneath her body… and as she fell on to the rain-soaked ground…. She uttered a silent farewell to her family before darkness took her.

Reviews! This chapter is quite short bcuz this is the introduction. I'll update as quick as possible k!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto but I do own the made-up characters.

"Haruka Kanata" playing in the background.

Sorry about the intro, it kinda sucked because it was soo short. I'll try to make it longer next time! This is just my first fanfic..

Alrite! On to da story!

"Yawn…. Damn kakashi-sensei… why does he always have to be so freaking late!" groaned Naruto.

"Oh shut up Naruto, you know Kakashi-sensei's a late-comer," yawned Sakura tiredly.

Sasuke leaned on the bridge railing, obviously brooding about something.

Exactly 30 minutes later, the silver-haired jounin appeared in a poof of smoke in front of them.

"Ohayo everyone!" greeted Kakashi-sensei with an invisible grin behind his mask. "Haha, sorry I was late, I lost my Icha Icha Paradise book this morning and I ….." he trailed off when he saw the angry faces on Sakura and Naruto's face.

"ENOUGH WITH THE STUPID LIES!" screamed both of them angrily.

"Ehem, lets get to the point shall we, today there is going to be a…" started Kakashi.

"What! What! What is happening today? Are we having a ramen party!" interrupted Naruto.

"No, actually, we're having a…"

"A VACATION?"

"Naruto, stop butting in…"

"AN S-RANKED MISSION?"

"Please Naruto, can you shut…."

"YOU ARE GOING TO TREAT US WITH RAMEN?"

"CAN YOU SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET KAKASHI-SENSEI CONTINUE!" yelled Sakura as she rained punches on Naruto.

"Ow... Ouch! Sakura-chan that hurts!" wined Naruto as Kakashi and Sasuke sweatdropped.

"Arigatou, Sakura-chan," replied Kakashi as he restrained Sakura from beating Naruto into a pulp, "Today theres a new kunoichi who will be training a while with us," continued Kakashi.

"New kunoichi?" wondered Sakura.

"Yes, she arrived in the Academy late, but she managed to catch up with you guys,"

"Really?" asked Naruto.

"Havent you heard what I said just now!" snapped Kakashi.

"Yeah, dweeb… quit being such a moron," sneered Sasuke coldly.

"Why you, Sasuke-teme…I'll…," growled Naruto.

"STOP FIGHTIIIIING!" yelled Sakura at the top of her voice. "Naruto stop acting like a kid!"

The silver-haired Jounin sighed inwardly and scratched his head as he saw Naruto and Sasuke shooting daggers with their eyes at each other while Sakura was fuming like a volcano that's about to erupt.

"Come on u guys, stop it," said Kakashi in a lousy attempt to stop them.

As usual, they ignored him.

"Fine then, this afternoon we'll meet together near the training grounds so I can introduce the new kunoichi to you brats, and remember to help her if she has any problems, got it?" replied Kakashi in a drowsy tone.

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei,"

**Later that afternoon,**

"Thump… Thump…" Naruto was banging his head on a tree. "I…" (Thump) "Am…" (Thump) "So…" (Thump) "Hungry…" (Thump) "Rameeen,"wined Naruto.

"Shut up Naruto, who asked you to spend the whole lunchtime in the toilet," scolded Sakura.

"But… but Sakura-chan, I forgot to see the expiry date of my milk again," groaned Naruto.

"That's your problem u dobe," muttered Sasuke coldly.

"I AM NOT A DOBE SASUKE-TEME!"

"Whatever,"

"To make it worse, Kakashi-sensei is late AGAIN," sniffed Naruto.

"Its already becoming a habit for sensei," replied Sakura while she looked at her watch. _One more minute left_ she thought.

Exactly after one minute, the perverted jounin appeared in a poof of smoke. "Sorry to keep you waiting guys," said Kakashi happily. "It's because I…"

"Cut the crap already," grumbled Sakura and Naruto.

"Haha… okay okay," _Phew, good thing I didn't have to come up with an excuse again thought _Kakashi peevishly.

"Where's the new kunoichi!" shouted Naruto who was trying to looking behind Kakashi.

"She'll be arriving shortly,"

After a few minutes, Kakashi saw a shadow walking towards them from a distance.

"Ah, here she comes!" said Kakashi.

Everybody rushed to get a better look at the kunoichi. Her eyes were as black as midnight and she was raven-haired. _Just like Sasuke_ thought Sakura wonderingly. The girl wore a black tank-top and dark pants with a kunai holster strapped to her right thigh. Her hair was short with a braided tail at the back. Her forehead protector is tied around her waist and her right arm is covered with armor. The armor looked heavy but her movements made it look light.

_I don't know why… but she is very disturbing_ thought Sasuke warily. _There was something familiar about her face, she looks like someone… but who? _

Her expression was steely, but her eyes were very disturbing. Her eyes had a distant look in them.

"Alright then, lets introduce ourselves," said Kakashi.

"HI! Nice to meet you! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I am going to be a Hokage in the future!"

"Nice to meet you, my name is Haruno Sakura," greeted Sakura in a light tone.

"I am Hatake Kakashi, your sensei, it's a pleasure to meet you,"

"And I am Uchiha Sasuke," muttered Sasuke coldly.

The girl's eyes widened when she heard his name, and there was a shocked look in her dark eyes. "Uchiha…." She whispered. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if unable to believe what she had heard.

Sasuke noticed her reaction, and he couldn't help to feel curious about this girl.

"And now its your turn," said Kakashi to her with an encouraging look in his eyes.

The girl sighed, as if reluctant to reveal her identity. She looked at the ground, her dark hair obscuring her eyes, trying to muster up the courage to say out her name.

Then, she looked up, her eyes glowing.

"My name… is… Uchiha Reiko," she whispered.

"Waaat?" uttered Sasuke with a shocked look in his face. Sakura and Naruto was rooted on the ground… trying to understand what she just said.

_No! No! It couldn't be… I was the last who survived! _ Sasuke thought confusedly. _Did she say something wrong? Did I hear her correctly?_

Sakura noticed Sasuke's shocked face and tried to comfort him. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke pushed her away and shook his head, trying to clear away those confusing thoughts. _I need to be somewhere alone now, I … I need to clear my mind_ thought Sasuke warily.

"I…. I have to go now, gomen," he said quietly as he walked back to Konoha.

"Wait! Sasuke-kun! Wait!" shouted Sakura and she tried to catch up to him, but he was already out of sight. "Sigh…"

"What's wrong with Sasuke? sensei…" asked Naruto.

"Oh, nothing, I am sure that Sasuke will be alright," replied Kakashi-sensei, fully knowing that Sasuke has some things on his mind. "I expect you to not bother him,"

"Huh… okay,"

"And… Reiko, I hope you are not surprised at Sasuke's reaction," Kakashi said.

"No… not at all, sensei…" she replied softly, her eyes staring into the distance.

"Great! And Sakura can you stop worrying about Sasuke, he's going to be fine,"

"Er… erm… okay," said Sakura… obviously still worrying about her Sasuke-kun.

"Sighs… Alright this meeting is dismissed,"

"YAY… FINALLY I AM ABLE TO EAT… Reiko-chan, do you want to come too?" yelled Naruto friendly.

"No, thanks,"

"Oh well… what about you Sakura-chan?"

"Fine, but don't ask me to treat you… If I did, I'd be broke," sulked Sakura.

"Okay! I'll treat then! Come on Reiko-chan, you can come with us! Pretty please!"

"Fine, whatever," Reiko replied unenthusiastically.

"And what about you, Kakash…"

The silver-haired jounin was gone. Naruto sweatdropped. _I didn't see him_ leave he thought.

"Oh well, lets go!"

**Meanwhile**

(sadness and sorrow playing in the background)

Sasuke was trudging through Kohoha's dense forest, trying to make sense of what the Reiko girl just said. "Uchiha… Uchiha… No! No! It doesn't make sense!" said Sasuke angrily and he punched a tree.

"Itachi killed all of them except me… except ME!" he shouted, his mind hurt as past memories clawed through his mind. "He couldn't have… he couldn't have…"Sasuke was breathing heavily now as he knelt beside the river, looking at his reflection in the water. He closed his eyes, the pain, anger and hatred… flowing through his veins... seemed never-ending. He opened his eyes again, and saw his brother's reflection in the churning water, smirking at him with those Sharingan eyes of his…

Sasuke clenched his fist tightly, and his nails dug into his flesh. In his fury, he punched at his brother's reflection… watching it fade …. He remembered the past memories of his parents, and the thought of them was unbearable… he felt as if sharp claws were digging into his heart. _Calm down Sasuke…calm down…_he thought. He stood up slowly and began to walk back to Konoha.

**At the Ichiraku Ramen **

"YUM! ONE MORE BOWL PLEASE!" shouted Naruto as he finished his 30th bowl.

"Does he really eat that much?" whispered Reiko to Sakura after finishing her 2nd bowl.

"Yea… he has a weird (and I mean very weird) passion about ramen, just like gai-sensei and rock lee," muttered Sakura.

"Oh,"

"Hi Naruto!"shouted Kiba and Rock Lee.

"Oh great! You guys are here!" greeted Naruto. "Lets have a ramen competition!"

"Bring it on!" yelled Kiba as his dog, Akamaru barked loudly.

"I wanna join too!" shouted Rock Lee.

"Me too!" grunted Chouji.

"Great! The more the merrier!"

"How troublesome," muttered Shikamaru.

_Damn, all the noisy guys are here_ thought Sakura darkly as she sweatdropped.

Reiko just looked at them uninterestedly and continued to look at her empty ramen bowl.

As the three boys were slurping loudly on their ramen, Ten Ten, Hyuuga Hinata , Sakura, and Ino started to cheer on the boys while Hyuuga Neji and Aburame Shino are having a glaring competition and Shikamaru was looking at the clouds…. Again.

After a while, Neji noticed the new girl sitting lonely at the corner and started to feel curious.

"Hey Naruto, is this your team's new recruit?" asked Neji, momentarily distracting Naruto from his ramen competition.

"Mmmp.. errrghhpp.." Naruto managed to spew out with a mouth full of ramen.

"God dammit Naruto don't talk with your mouth full,"

Naruto raised his hand in a peace sign and swallowed the ramen before continuing, "Er.. yes! She is the new kunoichi! Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce her to you guys,"

Reiko glanced up from her ramen and glared at the strangers.

"Hi, my name is Hyuuga Neji, one of the number 1 ninjas," said Neji proudly.

"Yea right, hi sweetie my name is Rock Lee," greeted a thick eyebrowed weirdo.

"Eww…Stop it Lee, my name is TenTen!" said a tough-looking girl with her hair that was tied into two buns.

"Er..er.. h.. hi… my n.. name.. is Hyuuga.. Hi.. Hinata," stuttered the girl with the same opalescent eyes as Neji's.

"Yo! My name is Inuzuka Kiba and my partner here is Akamaru!" barked Kiba loudly.

"…"

Everybody looked expectantly at the guy with weird round spectacles. "Erm… Shino.. It's your turn," explained Kiba.

"Fine, my name is Aburame Shino,"

"Nice to meet you, my name is Yamanaka Ino!" smiled a blond-haired girl.

"I.. am… Chouji…," grunted the plump ninja with a mouth full of crisps.

"Urgh, how troublesome, my name is Nara Shikamaru," said Shikamaru lazily.

"Now's your turn to introduce yourself!" said Naruto to Reiko.

Reiko glared at the ninjas darkly before saying, "My name.. is Uchiha Reiko,"

"Uchiha!" muttered the ninjas in shock.

"But..but.. I thought Sasuke is the last?" said Kiba unbelievingly.

Reiko looked down and started to walk away from the ninjas as they started to whisper among themselves.

"Hey! Reiko-chan! Where are you going?" asked Naruto.

"Home," muttered Reiko darkly. Reiko was in a bad mood today and she just wanted to be alone, _I shouldn't have gone with Naruto_ she thought angrily. She sighed and remembered the Uchiha boy from just now, _He looks like him_, she thought.

Haa.. long chapter … hehe I hope u guys can review my story.. THANKS!

Your reviews will be very much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto but I do own Reiko and my made up characters.

This is my first fan fic so please r&r okay! Great!

**Still at Ichiraku Ramen…**

"What's wrong with Reiko?" asked Neji.

"Urgh, it's because of you guys," remanded Sakura, "She's just a new kunoichi okay, so what if she's another Uchiha…Stop whispering about her, maybe she hates it,"

"What if she likes Sasuke too, Sakura," teased Ino, "She's going to be another rival,"

_Ino's right, what if Reiko-chan likes Sasuke too! It'll be harder to win his heart! _Sakura thought in panic. _I will not let her_! Growled Inner Sakura angrily.

"Neji, you should've been more polite, you look like a snob just now," scolded Tenten.

"My behavior is none of your business, girl," snapped Neji.

"How dare you talk to me like that, Hyuuga Ne…" growled Tenten as she cracked her knuckles.

"Stop fighting lovebirds," muttered Lee.

_Uh oh_ everybody thought.

"Whaaat!" Neji and Tenten turned to look at Lee.

"Er..er.. I didn't say anything!" stuttered Lee as he cowered from the towering Neji and Tenten.

Neji activated his Byakuugan and started kicking Lee all over the place while Tenten dug into her weapon bag and started throwing shurikens, kunais and senbons at poor Lee.

"STOP IT.. STOOOOP!" screamed you-know-who.

"Here we go again…" everyone muttered.

Reiko walked down the street towards her home, which was near the Uchiha Clan residence. She was too busy thinking and she accidentally knocked into someone.

"Watch where you're going," she muttered.

"That's supposed to be my line,"

Reiko looked up and saw that she was staring into the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke. She glared at him with the same cold eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Gomen," she said as she started to walk away.

"Wait,"

She felt surprised and stopped on her tracks, "What," She turned to look at him darkly.

"Come on, follow me," the Uchiha boy said and he grabbed Reiko's arm.

"Hey!"

"Just follow me," whispered Sasuke.

"Fine, whatever,"

_She doesn't talk much… at least she's not as annoying as Sakura_ thought Sasuke and he smirked to himself. Reiko noticed his smirk but she didn't say anything, and she felt curious, _where is he taking me, _wondered Reiko

Sasuke led her into the Uchiha clan residence and made his way through the deserted paths. Reiko shuddered as she looked at the derelict houses and lifeless streets, fragments of memories flashing through her mind.

"Maybe we can go to my house, its nearer," offered Reiko.

"Really? Okay," replied Sasuke.

Reiko quickly walked through some alleys and down the main street, which led to her house. Sasuke glanced at it, and went inside, followed closely by Reiko.

It was a small and gloomy-looking house, and Reiko did not want to waste time decorating it. It was hard living alone without her family, but she soon got used to it, cooking her own meals and tidying up her room. Sasuke looked around the house and settled on the tiny living room, and Reiko sat down on the chair next to him, looking at him warily.

"What is it all about then?" asked Reiko darkly.

"I…I want to know what happened… that day," Sasuke muttered, not looking at Reiko's face.

"You mean…"

"Yes…"

Reiko sighed, and forced herself to continue, "Why do you want to know about this?"

"I need to… I need to understand what happened, so that it makes sense,"

"But…"

"If you don't want to tell me then its okay," said Sasuke, his eyes looking down at the cold floor.

"Is that what you want to know? About what happened that night?"

"Erm.. yeah… but if you don't want to tell me… its fine, I am not forcing you to say it out,"

"Really? Then I won't… I don't like saying it out," whispered Reiko sadly.

"Me too,"

"I should be going now," Sasuke added and he started to walk towards the door.

"Sasuke…" called Reiko.

"Yes?" he replied.

"It's… it's… nice to meet you," she whispered and she quickly looked down.

Sasuke nodded and hid a smile, "I'm glad I met you too, Reiko,"

Reiko looked up at him, but he was already gone. _Did he meet Itachi too that night?_ She thought. Reiko sighed, _Its no use thinking about it…_

**The next day…**

Sakura gazed at her watch and sighed, "Kakashi-sensei is so damn late… what kind of sensei is he?"

Naruto nodded his agreement, "Kakashi-sensei maybe overslept, I wish I did too.." he groaned.

Reiko and Sasuke was having a glaring match, paying no attention to the other ninjas.

Finally, after about 20 minutes, they saw Kakashi-sensei walking towards them slowly, with an Icha Icha Paradise book in his hand. .

"I.. am … so… pissed..," growled Sakura and Naruto..

"Hahaha… sorry guys, I am late,"

"Let's just get on with it," muttered Reiko.

"Ah.. Hai, hai.., Alright guys today we'll go to the training grounds to train, and in the meantime I also want to know how good Reiko is, so you guys will spar with her," instructed Kakashi-sensei.

Sasuke smirked and looked at Reiko, who was staring at him with a determined look in her eyes. _Lets see how good you are, Uchiha Reiko_.. thought Sasuke excitedly.

Reiko stared back at Sasuke with full confidence. "I will beat him," whispered Reiko under her breath. _I will!_ She thought confidently.

Naruto gave a thumbs up to the silver haired sensei. "Yosh! Let's go then! Come on Reiko, let's see how good you are!" boasted Naruto.

"Yes," said Sakura, staring at Reiko and Sasuke as if to see that there is something between them (you know what I mean).

**At the Training Grounds**

"Alright, Sasuke and Naruto, you guys train your ninjutsu and genjutsu first while Sakura spars with Reiko, when Reiko gets past Sakura.. its Sasuke's turn to spar with her, Naruto won't spar with Reiko, because he might hurt himself, got it?" ordered Kakashi-sensei, oblivious to Naruto's pleads.

"Hai!" everybody answered.

"Good! Now Sakura and Reiko, get ready!"

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," yelled Sakura.

"Hn…." Reiko nodded.

"Spar!" shouted Kakashi-sensei and he quickly resumed reading his book on a tree.

Sakura took out a kunai and ran straight at Reiko, and she felt frustrated that Reiko was not doing anything, she was merely staring at her with those dark eyes, her body not moving a mere inch.

Sakura aimed and threw the kunai at Reiko. Reiko dodged the kunai with lightning speed and jumped onto a tree branch, throwing shurikens and kunais at Sakura. _What the! She's damn fast! _Thought Sakura in panic as Reiko jumped from tree branch to tree branch, throwing kunais at her.

Sakura could only dodge the weapons aimed at her, trying to find a chance to attack Reiko. Reiko suddenly stopped throwing kunais and attacked Sakura from the back, raising her leg to kick her.

Sakura sensed her and used a kunai to stab Reiko, half thinking that she had won. But suddenly, Reiko disappeared in a poof of smoke and was gone. "Nani?" shouted Sakura who was shocked. "Kage Bunshin?" she muttered.

Naruto was shocked when he saw the clone Reiko disappear. "It couldn't be.. Kage Bunshin No Jutsu?"

"It is, dork," smirked Sasuke. _Seems like Reiko can be a worthy opponent for me,_ Sasuke thought.

Suddenly, a kunai rested on Sakura's neck and a voice behind her spoke, "Yes, it's Kage Bunshin…" Sakura froze in shock when she heard Reiko's voice behind her. _I…I can't sense her! _Sakura thought in shock.

_She is extremely good at concealing her chakra_, Kakashi thought without looking up from his book. _She must have mastered it when she was very young…_

Reiko used her kunai and stabbed Sakura, but Sakura immediately changed into a log.

"Kawarimi…" muttered Reiko.

_Now is the chance_, Sakura thought and she jumped down from the tree she was hiding and attacked Reiko from behind.

Reiko smirked and whirled around quickly, catching Sakura's leg in mid-air. "What the!" yelled Sakura. Reiko twisted Sakura's leg and caught her hand, pinning Sakura painfully onto the ground. Sakura struggled to get up, but Reiko restrained her calmly.

"Alright then, u guys put up a great job, especially Reiko," Kakashi said as he jumped down from his tree. "Sasuke, now is your turn to spar with Reiko,"

Sasuke stood facing Reiko, who was brushing dust and dirt off her arms, and put his hands in his pockets, waiting for Kakashi-sensei's signal to start.

"Alright, are you guys ready?" asked Kakashi.

Sasuke and Reiko nodded, both of them impatient for the spar to start.

"Spar!"

What will happen when Sasuke and Reiko fight? I will write it in the next chapter, hehe this is supposed to be a cliffie, but I didn't do it quite effectively sighs

Pls r&r, your reviews are welcome!


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Haha, I am sorry for not updating in ages, I got hampered by freaking homework. I am blabbing.. sorry guyz I'll try to update quicker!

Lol.. I tink Sasuke's a little OOC in here… my fanfictions hav some OOCness in them.. but hey! It's a fanfiction right?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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"Spar!"

Reiko grabbed a kunai from her holster and rushed forward, eyes glinting fiercely, her lips twisting into a snarl.

Sasuke pulled out a kunai and rushed up to meet her, their kunais letting out shrill ringing sounds every time they met.

_Their speed are almost equally matched_ thought Kakashi, looking at the spar with mild enthusiasm.

"I am going to win this!" muttered Reiko fiercely as she tried to hold off Sasuke's fearsome attacks, dodging his kunais and shurikens.

"Not if I beat you first!" Sasuke muttered back to her. Reiko frowned and attacked him again, using her taijutsu skills to tire him off, but they don't seem to affect him.

"Hm.. if taijutsu doesn't work on you.. I'll use ninjutsu then!" she yelled angrily, her hands forming familiar hand seals that Sasuke had seen before.

_Nani! She's doing Fire Jutsu! _thought Sasuke.

"Katon Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" Reiko yelled and a huge ball of fire shot from her mouth.

Sasuke dodged quickly, the fireball nearly scorching his shirt. _Phew_ he thought. _That was close…Damn, I was too careless…_

Suddenly, Reiko appeared behind him, her hands raised as if to punch him. He dived out of the way in time, and yelled, "Katon Housenka (Is it Housenka or Houraken?) No Jutsu!" and small balls of fire shot from his mouth, engulfing Reiko in flames.

There was a poof of smoke and Reiko immediately changed into a log. _Kawarimi again…_thought Sasuke and he grimaced. Suddenly he saw something burning on the log, Sasuke leaned forward for a closer look but backed away instantly. "Exploding tag!" he shouted and the log exploded with a huge bang.

He dived back just in time but there was soot all over his clothes and face… "Damn… why am I so careless today…" Sasuke muttered angrily.

Reiko saw the chance and attacked Sasuke again, trying to kick him off balance. He turned and leaped, grabbing her arm and shouting, "Shishi Rendan!"

"Nani!" Reiko gasped. Sasuke kicked from all sides, making her panic as she tried to dodge all his attacks. She grunted as he kicked her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and her mind became dizzy and painful.

_Damn it Reiko, don't give in now!_ A voice in her brain said. She quickly gathered up her energy and grabbed Sasuke's leg, her other hand reaching into her kunai holster to grab a kunai.

Sasuke tried to free his leg from Reiko's vice-like grip and grab his own kunai, as they plummeted from the sky, metres away from the hard ground.

Suddenly, Reiko released her grip from Sasuke's leg and straightened herself from the fall, and she saw Sasuke do the same. They landed on the hard ground, legs bending from the impact. Tendrils of dust and sand billowed about them as they held their kunais inches from their throat.

Reiko panted heavily and tried to think, as she was frustrated that she can't break through his steely defence.

She was about to attack him again when a shrill and all-too-familiar voice sounded throughout the forest. "HELLO YOUNG ONES.. I CAN SENSE YOUR PASSION TO FIGHT FROM A MILE AWAY!" A few birds dropped dead from the sky as Sasuke tried to snatch a glance at the new comer. _I know that voice…_he thought.

Kakashi looked up from his perverted book and looked at the new comer. "Oh my god.. It couldn't be?"

Reiko and Sakura's jaw dropped when they saw the new-comer. Sasuke's eyebrow was twitching and he was struggling not to go blind when his eyes processed the image before him. Naruto was rolling on the ground and clawing his eyes, screaming some inaudible gibberish and Kakashi fell out of his tree and muddied his precious book.

Lo and behold! It was none other than the infamous Gai-sensei! But it wasn't just Gai-sensei, it was Gai-sensei in a BRIGHT PINK NYLON SPENDEX SUIT! Holy crap! And that's not all… because Rock Lee is in a BRIGHT YELLOW SPENDEX SUIT! Reiko thought her eyes are going to roll out of her eye sockets as she looked at the sight before them.

"HELLO NARUTO! I SEE THAT YOU ARE IMPRESSED WITH MY NEW AND PRETTY SUIT!" yelled Rock Lee, his furry eyebrows twitching with pride.

"Impressed my butt," muttered Naruto and the rest of Team 7 nodded their agreement.

Neji and Tenten were standing beside their sensei and teammate, their faces glowing with humiliation, embarrassment and anger as they glared at their boasting sensei. If looks could kill, Gai and Lee are already shredded into a zillion pieces.

Kakashi tried to suppress his laughter (which he failed) and asked politely, "Ehem, Gai… why are you disrupting my class?"

"Disrupting? Why… Never! I am just giving some words of encouragement to your pupils, I never disturb children that are training when the flames of youth burn in them!"

Sakura's raised her eyebrow at the word "children".

"Uhh… you just did, Gai," said Kakashi matter-of-factly.

"But…but … you haven't made any comment on my new suit yet, Kakashi!" begged Gai with puppy-dog eyes.

"Oh yeah? Well I think it deserves to be flushed down the toilet, burned, soaked in some sodium hydroxide acid, shredded into pieces, and buried under tons of soil," answered Kakashi.

"Hmph, even you lose to me when it comes to fashion sense, Kakashi,"

"Yea right, you have a fashion sense equal to a muck-covered badger,"

"How dare you insult my fashion sense!"

"Alright, can you just shut up!"

The rest of Team 7 and Team 8 sweatdropped when they saw their sensei's bickering like 6-year old children.

Suddenly, Tenten stepped between the sensei's and shouted, "STOP FIGHTING!" As usual, they ignored her and resumed their argument, and poor Tenten was pummeled with flying spit from both senseis. Well… maybe not from Kakashi because he's wearing a mask.

"CUT THE CRAP!"

Everybody looked at Neji with wide round eyes… well… everyone except Reiko and Sasuke. Neji has definitely lost his cool.

Kakashi realized that he was acting weirdly and quickly scratched his head, a guilty look plastered on his face. "Ahaha… Gomen! Our training ends here, kay," he said sheepishly. "You guys did a great job!"

Reiko rolled her eyes. _Finally…_ she thought. She was about to leave the training grounds when she saw Sasuke looking at her. _Why is he looking at me?_ She stared back at him, her eyes glinting defiantly.

"Nice fight," Sasuke said with a smirk. Reiko glanced up in surprise, not believing that the Uchiha prodigy had just complimented her. He smirked again as he saw her gaping at him in confusion, a frown on her face.

"Th..Thanks," she replied, her eyes not meeting his dark obsidian ones. "Stop gaping like that, Reiko, you look like a goldfish," he joked. Reiko couldn't help but stare with her eyes wide open at the smirking Sasuke, trying to make sense about what he just said. _Did Sasuke just made a JOKE? What the heck is happening here? _

Reiko shrugged it off and walked out of the training grounds, all the while thinking about what happened. _Maybe I am just hallucinating…Yeah…I wish… _

Sasuke stared after Reiko as she walked out of sight. _She's a good fighter…_ He smirked to himself again when he saw Reiko's surprised face… _She looks pretty when she gets all surprised like that…what the… what am I thinking! _ Sasuke mentally punches himself in the head. _Shit… where did I get all these darn thoughts…grrr…_

"Er…Sasuke… Are you alright?" asked Sakura. She saw Sasuke gritting his teeth and shaking his head just now and felt worried.

"Yeah… Did you get rabies or something?" sneered Naruto.

Sasuke looked away to hide his blush and tried to control the urge to strangle Naruto. "Shut up dobe, it's none of your stinking business,"

"Whatever,"

Sasuke quickly left them and headed back to his home. He paused for a moment when he walked past Reiko's house, but quickly continued walking, all the while thinking about her.

He couldn't help but smile at the thought of Reiko, whom was his only kin besides Itachi… At least, he wouldn't be alone anymore… at least… he could share his feelings with her… At least… he wasn't the only one now…

Alright.. I think I'll stop here now… Well guys… pls review k! Ah.. and one more thing.. do you guys want a sad ending or a happy ending… pls vote k! Thanks! I really appreciate all the ppl who reviewed me… I'll try to write my stories better… considering that English is not my country's main language… but I'll try k!


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